Davis: Obama should visit border ‘at some point’

AUSTIN — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis said Thursday that President Obama should visit the country’s southern border to see for himself the flood of unaccompanied children arriving every day.

“I hope that at some point in time he will make time” to visit the border, Davis said. “It’s one thing to hear the numbers, it’s another thing to see it.”

The Forth Worth state senator made the comment in response to questions at a news conference after a speech at the annual conference of the Association of Texas Professional Educators.

Obama, who was in Texas for two days of fundraising and a midday speech at the Paramount Theatre here, has drawn criticism from Republicans and a few Democrats for not visiting the border during the trip. The White House has said the president is interested in action, not “photo opps.”

Davis made a point during her news conference to praise those actions, calling the request “appropriate” and saying she was “pleased” the president and governor met.

She added that she supports the state’s surge in border resources and has called for a special legislative session to address the issue.

Davis, who is trailing in the polls to Attorney General Greg Abbott, is not meeting with the president while he is while he is in this deeply Republican state. But she said she is not avoiding Obama.

“I was pleased to meet with him when he was here in April,” she said.

During her speech at the conference, Davis promised to raise teacher salaries, establish universal pre-kindergarten and double the number of high school classes that qualify for university credit. She accused Abbott, on the other hand, of supporting overcrowded classrooms, educator layoffs and standardized tests.

In particular, she criticized Abbott for unsuccessfully trying to remove the judge weighing a case about whether Texas is providing enough school funding. Abbott tried to remove the judge because he knew the judge would order the state to increase funding, Davis said.

“I encourage you to ask him why he’s fought against our students, our schools and our educators at every turn,” she said to loud applause from the left-leaning crowd of nearly 1,000 educators.

Abbott did not address the court case or mention Davis in his speech, a shorter talk largely met with polite applause.

The attorney general pledged to increase teacher development and touted his pre-kindergarten plan, which calls for increasing spending for school districts that adopt “best practices” that are working, as measured by assessments. The plan is estimated to cost $118 million, much less than the $750 million that Davis’ is estimated to cost.

In response to a question in an interview after the speech, Abbott said it was important to speak to the members of the group even if they were likely to support Davis.

“Education is one of my top priorities,” the GOP nominee said. “I have lofty goals for education in the state of Texas.”

The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, San Antonio state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, also spoke to the conference Thursday. The GOP nominee, Houston state Sen. Dan Patrick, declined an invitation.

Brian M. Rosenthal is a reporter in the Houston Chronicle’s Austin bureau. He can be reached at brian.rosenthal@chron.com or on Twitter @brianmrosenthal.